Human-powered, bird-like wings flying device

ABSTRACT

The human-powered, bird-like flying device of the present invention has wings which may rotate around the keel and legs that let the pilot control rotation of the wings, which is to make the wings flap. The present invention develops one of the more efficient methods of ascending, which is to increase the angle of attack by moving the control bar forward while shifting the pilot&#39;s weight to efficiently strike onto the legs that make the wings flap downward. The present invention is secure and stable in the air, particularly while ascending and descending. This is done by selecting the proper shape and sail area of the wings and by proper attachment of the arm, legs and the hang loop, which hold the pilot&#39;s body.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to flying devices, such as hang gliders, kites,paragliders, ornithopters, sailplanes, and various other flying devices.More specifically, this invention relates to a flying device, such as,but not limited to, one that is human powered, has bird like wings, andachieves ascent by flapping of the wings.

BACKGROUND

Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should inno way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely knownor forms part of common general knowledge in the field.

The earliest attempt to build a flying device is described in theAncient Greek story about Daedalus and Icarus (1500 BC). Icarus was ableto glide and soar in the beginning of his flight, but we do not have anyevidence that he flapped the wings. Two problems are associated withIcarus' device. First, is the construction of the wings, i.e., thejoints of the components itself and their relationship to Icarus' body.When Icarus soared up for some time, the joints melted since the gluewas made out of wax. The second, and most important problem, is thatIcarus would not be able to flap the wings. Indeed, the proportion ofthe power of human hands to the body's weight is many times less thanthe proportion of the power of the birds' wings to their weight. Birdmay flap their wings. However, humans cannot flap the artificial wingsusing their hand muscles. This problem has been encountered by otherinventors of wings many times for the next three and half millenniumsafter Icarus.

The second milestone that influence our creative thinking for buildingthe human-powered bird-like-wings is Leonardo da Vinci's flying device(circa 1485). da Vinci's flying device resembles the modern hang glidersand ornithopter, a winged-flapping device intended to fly. However, thisdevice would be difficult to reduce into practice because of the lack ofthe light and durable metals for building this device. This does noteven take into consideration the ability to fly and the stability of thedevice. A model that da Vinci built for a test flight in 1496 did notfly.

In 1948 Rogallo patented the flying device “Flexible Kite” (U.S. Pat.Nos. 4,116,406 and 4,116,407), which provides a kite which is simple tofly and graceful in flight. It is simple and economically constructed.However, such hang gliders are dependent on air updrafts to maintainthem airborne. Otherwise, the device is inevitably descends to earth.These devices can glide and soar, but lack the most important element offlying, the ability to ascend by flapping the wings. Many otherinventors of the prior art claim that their devices may flap, but thereis no evidence that these devices are able to fly; that is to glide, tosoar, and to flap the wings for ascent, as well as to be stable andsecure in the air. In sum, we see the following historic problems of theprior art; there is no device that sustains stability and equilibrium inthe air while flapping the wings and there is no reliable method offlapping the wings for ascension.

SUMMARY

The human-powered, bird-like-wing flying device (a/k/a KROUNK) of thepresent invention overcomes the problems associated with prior art. Thepresent invention does that by the following: KROUNK has wings which mayrotate around the keel and it has legs that let the pilot controlrotation of the wings, which is to make the wings flap. The presentinvention develops one of the more efficient methods of ascending, whichis to increase the angle of attack by moving the control bar forwardwhile shifting the pilot's weight to efficiently strike onto the legsthat make the wings flap downward. The present invention is secure andstable in the air, particularly while ascending and descending. This isdone by selecting the proper shape and the area of the wings and byproper attachment of the arm, legs and the hang loop, which holds thepilot's body.

It is a goal of the present invention to illustrate the following: (1)how to construct a human-powered, bird-like flying device that has twowings able to flap; (2) a method of use of this device; (3) a means ofmanufacturing the device, and (4) a superior method of flying whichincludes, but is not limited to, a superior method of ascending.

Further, it is another goal of the present invention to illustrate themethodologies that may be used in order to flap the wing for ascensionin a variety of flying devices.

The features and advantages described herein are not all-inclusive and,in particular, many additional features and advantages will be apparentto one of ordinary skill in the art in view of the drawings,specification, and claims. Moreover, it should be noted that thelanguage used in the specification has been principally selected forreadability and instructional purposes, and not to limit the scope ofthe inventive subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of the present invention illustrating thecomponents that make up the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is perspective view of the keel, the arm, and the hang loop ofthe present invention.

FIG. 4 is perspective view of the leading edges, as well as the keel,arm, and the hang loop of the present invention when placed in use.

FIG. 5 is perspective view of a first embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 is perspective view of a second embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Overview: In FIG. 1, flying device 10 has wings or sails 20, 22, arm 30,legs 40, a pilot 50, a hang loop 60, and a keel 70. Both right wing 20and left wing 22 are capable of rotating several degrees around keel 70.Legs 40 and 42 are securely attached to right wing 20 and left wing 22.Pilot 50 is hanging on keel 70 by hang loop 60. The pilot's hands maypush inward and outward, left and right on arm 30 and their feet on legs40 and 42 to push them straight down, down-left, down-right,down-inward, or down-outward.

In FIG. 2, flying device 10 has a right wing 20, which has a rightleading edge (RLE) 24, which is attached to keel 70. Also, flying device10 has left wing 22, which has a left leading edge (LLE) 26, which isattached to keel 70. Hang loop 60 and arm 30 are securely attached tokeel 70.

RLE 24 and LLE 26 are metal tubes. Alternatively, they may be a rod orother similar forms. RLE 24 and LLE 26 run along the front edge of theleft wing 22 and right wing 20 to keep them taut. Legs 40 and 42 maypull RLE 24 and LLE 26 down, which make RLE 24 and LLE 26 rotate to somedegree around keel 70. Pilot 50 may push the legs down and the wingsflap down.

FIG. 3 illustrates how hang loop 60 and arm 30 are attached to keel 70.It also illustrates that when hang loop 60 moves toward the nose offlying device 10, the speed of the device is increased. When hang loop60 moves toward the tail, the speed of the device is decreased. Whenhang loop 60 moves to the right, flying device 10 moves to the right TR.When hang loop 60 moves to the left, the device 10 turns to the left TL.

The intention of these figures is to illustrate a preferred methodologyof making the flying device 10 with pilot 50 moving up, left, right,increasing the speed forward, or decreasing the speed. The unique meansfor ascending is the use of the components of flying device 10, such aswings 20 and 22, arm 30 and legs 40 and 42. In alternative embodiments,any number of combination of wing shapes, arm, and legs and theirelements may be used, all of which would be considered under the scopeof the present invention.

Arm: In FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, keel 70 is a light metal tube attachedlongitudinally to the intersection of wings 20 and 22. Keel 70 supportsRLE 24 and LLE 26 and allows RLE 24 and LLE 26 rotate to some degreearound keel 70. Hang loop 60 is attached to keel 70 and suspends pilot50. Arm 30 is attached to keel 70 near hang loop 60 and allows pilot 50shift his or her weight to the right, left, forward, and backward. Arm30 connects to wires (not shown) to prevent wings 20 and 22 from foldingupward when in flight. Arm 30 also serves to transmit the pilot'scontrol of wings 20 and 22 to the left, right, backward, and forward.

Legs: In FIG. 4, legs 40 and 42 are attached to RLE 24 and LLE 26 andallow pilot 50 to shift their weight from keel 70 to RLE 24 and LLE 26and vice versa. Legs 40 and 42 also serve to transmit the pilot'scontrol of wings 20 and 22 by moving them up or down and making themrotate to some degree around keel 70. Hang loop 60 serves to hang thepilot dynamically on the center of gravity of flying device 10.

Wings: Wings 20 and 22 form a surface that is acted upon by aerodynamicforces to keep flying device 10 aloft. They are able to respond to pilot50 who exercises control by the shifting of the pilot's body weight fromkeel 70 to legs 40 and 42. Wings 20 and 22 may be moved around keel 70;thus, efficiently exercising flap and creating additional lift allowingflying device 10 with pilot 50 to move upward.

Method of Manufacture: In FIG. 2, RLE 24, LLE 26, and keel 70 are madeof a light metal, wood, foam, or other durable material, including butnot limited to, an aluminum alloy. The Legs 40 and 42 are made offlexible ropes, including but not limited to, stainless steel wires orsynthetic nylon ropes. Left wing 20, right wing 22, and keel 70 areattached together at one end in such a way that left wing 20 and rightwing 22 may rotate around keel 70. Wings 20 and 22 are made of a durablefabric, including but not limited to, nylon or polyethyleneterephthalate (Dacron®). The sail area of wings 20 and 22 has to bedetermined according to the pilot weight. It may range, but is notlimited to, from between approximately 80 sq. ft. to 250 sq. ft. Hangloop 60 is attached to keel 70 at the point where the center of applyingforces (the sum of the weight of the pilot and the device) and thecenter of lift. Arm 30 are attached to keel 70 a slight distance behindhang loop 60 to allow pilot 50 to move arm 30 and thus may move hangloop 60 and himself to exercise the control over flying device 10. Legs40 and 42 are attached to some part of the middle of left wing 20 andright wing 22. A variety of means may be used for attaching abovementioned components, including but not limited to above mentionedmeans.

Method of Use: Pilot 50 exercises control by shifting body weight inopposition to arm 30. That is, wings 20 and 22 are controlled bychanging their pitch and roll by means of shifting their center ofapplied forces. This is done by suspending the payload in the center byapplying weights beneath wings 20 and 22 and moving pilot 50 left orright or forward or aft. When the center of applied weight of thepilot's body shifts toward the nose, the angle of attack of flyingdevice 10 is decreased and, consequently, the speed of the device 10 isincreased. When the body weight of pilot 50 shifts toward the tail, theangle of attack of flying device 10 is increased, and consequently, thespeed of device 10 is decreased. When the body weight of pilot 50 shiftsleft, device 10 turns left. When the pilot's body shifts right, device10 turns right. When the pilot's body weight shifts from hang loop 60 tolegs 40 and 42, wings 20 and 22 are rotated down around keel 70. Whenpilot 50 releases the body weight pressure from legs 40 and 42 back tohang loop 60, wings 20 and 22 are rotated up around keel 70. When thepilot 50 pushes legs 40 and 42 straight-down, down-left, down-right,down-inward, or down-outward, the angle of attack or roll changes, andthe direction of flight is changed accordingly.

Method of Flying [locomotion]: There are several aerial locomotionmaneuvers, including but not limited to, gliding flight, soaring, andflying proper. Gliding flight is defined as falling at less than 45degrees from the horizon. Soaring is essentially a form of glidingwherein the device is rising or otherwise moving air without flappingthe wings. When pilot 50 hangs on hang loop 60 and does not shift theirweight onto legs 40 and 42, wings 20 and 22 are not rotating around thekeel 70; that is, they do not flap and flying device 10 is gliding orsoaring. However, flying proper is defined as the flapping of wings toproduce thrust ascending without the aid of the motion of the winditself, as opposed to gliding and soaring. When wings 20 and 22 flap, asopposed to gliding or soaring, they develop some lift as before due tothe shape of wings 20 and 22 that produce aerodynamic force which liftsflying device 10. Wings 20 and 22 change the angle of attack between theup-stroke and the down-stroke. When pilot 50 shifts their weight at acertain speed from hang loop 60 to legs 40 and 42; that is, making thewings 20 and 22 down-stroke, pilot 50 also moves arm 30 forward,increasing the angle of attack, or pushing legs 40 and 42 down andforward without pushing arm 30. This combination of moves makes flyingdevice 10 move upward and forward.

ALTERNATIVE EMBODIMENTS

In FIG. 5, flying device 110 works in much the same manner as flyingdevice 10 in FIG. 1. Flying device 110 has wings 120 and 122, arm 130,legs 140 and 142, pilot 150, hang loop 160, and keel 170. Both the rightwing 120 and left wing 122 may either rotate to some degree around keel170, or may be fixed together without the ability to rotate around keel170. Legs 140 and 142 are securely attached to right wing 120 and leftwing 122. Pilot 150 hangs on keel 170 by hang loop 160. The hands ofpilot 150 may push arm 130 inward and outward, left and right, and theirfeet may be positioned on legs 140 and 142 to push them down.

Method of Flying [locomotion] of the First Embodiment: There is animportant difference in locomotion when right wing 120, left wing 122and keel 170 are fixed together. When pilot 150 pushes down on leg 140,right wing 120 flaps down, and left wing 122 flaps up. When pilot 150pushes down on leg 142, left wing 122 flaps down, and right wing 120flaps up. While pushing legs 140 or 142 up and/or down, pilot 150 pushesand/or pulls arm 130; thus changing the angle of attack. The entireflying device is rotating around an imaginary axis in propeller-likerotation.

In FIG. 6, flying device 210 works in much the same manner as flyingdevice 10 in FIG. 2. However, flying device 210 does not have arm.However, the angle of attack and rolling may be controlled by pushinglegs 240 and 242 down-forward, or down-backward, or down-left, ordown-right. The performance of this variant of the flying device 210 issubstantially the same: even though it does not have arm.

The spirit of the present invention provides a breadth of scope thatincludes all methods of the human-powered bird-like flying device,element of another flying device. The foregoing description of theembodiments of the invention has been presented for the purposes ofillustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or tolimit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Many modificationsand variations are possible in light of this disclosure. It is intendedthat the scope of the invention be limited not by this detaileddescription, but rather by the claims appended hereto.

1. A flying device comprising: a keel; a pair of wings, the pair ofwings being attached to the keel, wherein the pair of wings furthercomprises a left wing and a right wing, wherein the left wing furthercomprises a left leading edge and the right wing further comprises aright leading edge; a hang loop, the hang loop being attached to thekeel; and a pair of legs, wherein the pair of legs further comprises aleft leg and a right leg, wherein the left leg is attached to the leftleading edge of the left wing and the right leg is attached to the rightleading edge of the right wing.
 2. The flying device of claim 1 whereinthe keel is longitudinally positioned at an intersection of the leftwing and the right wing.
 3. The flying device of claim 1 wherein theleft wing and the right wing are rotatable around the keel.
 4. Theflying device of claim 1 wherein the left leading edge and the rightleading edge are attached to the keel.
 5. The flying device of claim 1wherein the keel, the left leading edge, and the right leading edge aretubular members.
 6. The flying device of claim 1 wherein the keel, theleft leading edge, and the right leading edge are made of a materialselected from the group consisting of: metal, wood, foam, and acombination thereof.
 7. The flying device of claim 6 wherein the keel,the left leading edge, and the right leading edge are made of analuminum alloy covered by foam.
 8. The flying device of claim 1 whereinthe left leading edge and the right leading edge are made taut bypulling down on the left leg and the right leg and cause the leftleading edge and the right leading edge to rotate around the keel. 9.The flying device of claim 1 wherein movement of the hang loop toward anose portion of the flying device increases velocity of the flyingdevice, wherein movement of the hang loop toward a tail portion of theflying device decreases velocity of the flying device, wherein movementof the hang loop in a rightward direction moves the flying device in therightward direction, and wherein movement of the hang loop in a leftwarddirection moves the flying device in the leftward direction.
 10. Theflying device of claim 1 wherein the legs are made of a materialselected from the group consisting of: stainless steel wires, syntheticnylon ropes, and a combination thereof.
 11. The flying device of claim1, wherein the wings are made of a material selected from the groupconsisting of: nylon, polyethylene terephthalate, and a combinationthereof.
 12. The flying device of claim 1 wherein a sail area of thepair of wings ranges between approximately 80 square feet to 250 squarefeet.
 13. The flying device of claim 1 wherein a shift in a body weightof a user from the hang loop to the pair of legs causes rotation of thepair of wings down around the keel and wherein the shift in the bodyweight of the user from the pair of legs to the hang loop causesrotation of the pair of wings up around the keel.
 14. The flying deviceof claim 13 wherein a stasis in the body weight of the user between thehang loop and the pair of legs causes the pair of wings to remain staticin relation to the keel and the flying device to glide.
 15. The flyingdevice of claim 1 wherein the left wing, the right wing, and the keelare fixed together, wherein pressure on the right leg causes the rightwing to flap down and the left wing to flap up, wherein pressure on theleft leg causes the left wing to flap down and the right wing to flapup, and wherein pressure is exerted on the arm in conjunction with thepressure on the right leg and the left leg causing the flying device torotate in a circular motion.
 16. The flying device of claim 1 whereinthe pair of wings is flexibly attached to the keel by a hinge and aplurality of ropes.
 17. The flying device of claim 1 wherein the hangloop is attached to the keel at a point near a center of applied forcesand a center of lift.
 18. The flying device of claim 1 furthercomprising an arm, the arm being attached to the keel, wherein the armis positioned in front of the hang loop.